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Good Monday! Todays Coffee Monday Blog will be about Happiness.

Majority of us strive to be happy, it’s that inadequate feeling we get sometimes. There are a couple of ways we can attain happiness via shopping,- even if it’s the small things-traveling, starting a new relationship, ending a negative relationship, etc… All these things and more can really bring such a tremendous impulse of happiness but after a while that feeling fades then you move on to “now what?”. You see happiness doesn’t come after you get what you want, true happiness is something we constantly have to work on. It’s that feeling of feeling whole and complete regardless of our situations. It’s a tricky topic to talk about but I think i will dabble a little into how to create more happiness in your life.  Here are 3 simple ways we can work on our happiness- key word is “work” its a work in progress. I am speaking for myself too.  You can’t accomplish something until you believe you can do it. – So lets believe we can strive for true happiness.

1. Morning Prayer, Meditation & Gratitude: Starting your day off right is a fundamental key to a happier life. Taking 5 minutes in the morning to really appreciate the goodness in life, despite some your hardships. Because no matter the tough times you may encounter, you may not have a choice in how some things may turn out but you do have a choice in the way you react to it. Victor E Frankl quoted in his book Mans Search for Meaning – Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.  Our attitude is everything and when we have more gratitude in our everyday life it can increase our happiness tremendously. Another great way of  maintaining gratitude everyday is the 5 Minute Journal.    

Be Patient with Yourself- Have self compassion, even though things aren’t going right.Your mornings may started off crappy- you over slept, didn’t eat breakfast, spouse or kids driving you crazy-  we’ve all been there once in a while. We cant control how some things play out, the truth of the matter is that we can’t we need to be patient with life and ourselves. I know its easier said then done, but practice being patient. It won’t come right away but with time it will help easier your problems. Let the past be the past, work on the present and await the future with a smile. Whatever your journey maybe be, take it step-by-step. Learn from your mistakes , you miss out on so much in life when you beat yourself up. Patience is key to discovering the beauty of life. Truthfully, I am not a patient person by any means but I try, try very hard some days- but maybe not hard enough, it’s a constant struggle. Having patience means being able to wait calmly in the face of frustration or adversity, so anywhere there is frustration or adversity—i.e., nearly everywhere—we have the opportunity to practice it.

Kindness– There is no better feeling then seeing someone smile, especially when its because of you. Sometimes when we focus to much on ourselves we become self centered and that can get us a far, but acts of kindness bring a joy will get us farther. We are very disconnected in this world of technology, the more we have the less we are social. So lets put down our phones and give each other our full attention, lets seek out the goodness in us all and strive to make each other smile.Lets be honest, its very hard to be nice all the time, especially if you know someone who can really press those “do no touch” buttons we all have. I read Dale Carnegie’s Book  “How to Win Friends & Influence People” and it forever changed the way I communicate with people, and there was a part in his book that really moved me. “You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kinds words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a life time”  We don’t realize the effect of our words, so lets try to spread kindness today.

Have a great start to your week!